Tangze. There was no doubt about it—it was Tangze.
Rather than observing the suddenly appearing Heiji Hattori, he seemed to be relying on instinct, giving only the bare minimum response to outside stimuli. There was no reasonable emotional reaction to be found in his empty eyes.
Though he had no idea why he was having such a vividly lucid dream, Heiji Hattori still instinctively began analyzing the situation.
If this scene truly mirrored his past experiences, then this should have been the day eight years ago when he hit his head.
If it was eight years ago, then the little boy before him, mechanically singing a nursery rhyme with an utterly vacant gaze and seeming so unfamiliar, should have been Tangze before he had recovered.
After staring wide-eyed at each other for a while, Heiji Hattori opened his mouth and called tentatively, "Tangze?"
The child, who had not even blinked, finally reacted. He turned his head slightly.
Then he raised his hand and slowly held out the thing he was carrying toward Heiji Hattori.
It was a little goldfish-shaped charm, seemingly just bought from some stall. He had been loosely hooked around his finger the whole time, as though it were merely an ornament.
"Huh? What does this mean? Is it for me?"
Unable to understand Tangze's intentions at all, Heiji Hattori took the printed cotton-cloth goldfish into his hand in confusion.
Before he could figure it out, two voices called out from the other side of the courtyard.
"Akira, Akira? Ah, there you are."
"Akira, don't run around. There are too many people here; you'll get lost."
Tangze, whose hand was still held straight out, reacted quickly this time. He turned around and ran in small steps toward the voices.
Two more adults in kimono stood outside the temple